Pearls, Pens, Theme Songs and Huli Huli Chicken

I’ve been thinking a lot about this past year, and I’d like to leave two thoughts with you – my version of a legacy, so to speak:

Theme Songs

Huli Huli Chicken

First, about the theme songs: if you haven’t already found a theme song for your debut novel, think about getting one. For GOOD THINGS, my theme song is Imogen Heap’s “Goodnight and Go.” I literally see the movie trailer for the book when that music plays. It got me excited and passionate about the process, about getting published, about having written a book that, despite my insecurities, was a good read. It’s one of those weird things – you know you wrote something good, or good enough, and then there’s the moment of doubt where you’re so sure it’s absolute crap that you’re mortified it is actually going to be published and then it will be in the public domain and everyone will confirm what utter crap it is (that, and your publisher will come knocking for the advance you’ve already spent). So, get a theme song. It’ll keep you sane.

So now let’s talk about huli huli chicken. Huli huli chicken is basically barbecue/rotisserie chicken, Hawaiian-style, marinated in sherry, ginger and shoyu (a type of Japanese soy sauce). If you come to Hawaii, you’ll see it being cooked, and sold, by the side of the road. It’s a staple in the Hawaiian diet. So what does this have to do with you?

There are going to be times when the chicken just won’t huli – in other words, things aren’t going to go as planned, or, worse yet, you’ll feel like things have been completely shot to hell,. That’s okay. Well, it’s not okay but my suggestion is that you make your peace with it, because it will be okay in the end, even if it feels lousy in the moment. If anything like that happens to you, open your mind, put your chin up, and keep on dancing.

That’s all the pearls of wisdom this Deb can muster. I know it probably wasn’t quite what you were expecting, but life so rarely is. Good luck, future Debs and friends of the Ball who are looking forward to your future debuts. I wish you well.

That’s our Mia, dishing out secret “recipes” even during The Last Dance. You are a “Dreamgirl,” Mia…so dream on, keep writing and we’ll continue reading your creative concoctions — both of the fictional and edible varieties. And thank you.

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